Dark Ties
by YourMiniMonster
Summary: Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects. Now, the fire nation is about to meet their demise when a new threat awakens. But this time, the key to saving the world isn't the Avatar. Zuko/Oc.
1. When They Come Knocking

**A/N: Hey, I've been toying with an Avatar story for a long time. A **_**very**_** long time. Since before I even set up my fanfiction page. And it's taken me 3 years to **_**finally**_** decide to post it. The plot has taken a lot of time of thinking and deciding but I'm positive I have it nailed now. I don't expect my story to get a lot of reviews or a lot of people following, though it would be nice, I'm doing this for fun because every time I look for a good Avatar fic I can never find one to suit my needs. So this is why I'm doing this. **

**Also, this is set two years in the future. After Aang defeated Ozai and everything has returned to normal. This is basically a 'what if' after story adventure thingy. There will be no sequels to this story because, quite frankly- this is going to be a **_**long**_** story. **

**If you have notices also, it's a Zuko/Oc eventual romance thing. Which means, Mai and Zuko aren't a couple in this. But it doesn't mean they 'used to' have a relationship. **

**Also, our protagonists name is Meilin- pronounced 'May'-'Lyn'.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading the first chapter. It's probably not a good start, but I will promise it'll get better. Anyway, enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Dark Ties<strong>

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><p><strong>Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects. Now, the fire nation is about to meet their demise when a new threat awakens. But this time, the key to saving the world isn't the Avatar. ZukoOc. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: When They Come Knocking<strong>

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><p>Maybe it was just one of those days.<p>

Or maybe the world was just against her.

But whatever it was, Meilin wasn't happy. Not one bit.

She had already started to regret coming to Makapu Village, the answers she sought- the only place that could lead her in the right direction, had became a dried up well and it frustrated her. She just couldn't catch a break.

Before venturing to the small village, Meilin had heard rumours of a fortune teller. Someone who could give her unsolved answers some reason and light. That was what she originally hoped for. But now, it was nothing but a hopeless cause. Not even a lousy fortune teller could help her.

The fortune teller of Makapu Village, Wu was her name but mostly everyone there called her Aunt Wu, everyone in the village relied on the old hag for everything. From what to eat for breakfast, to when will they meet their true love. Apparently one man sought out Aunt Wu years ago, asking when he would meet his true love to what he would be wearing.

It all came down to red shoes. Since then, the man had been wearing red shoes, never taking them off. Occasionally, Meilin would spot the man wandering around the village with a bright smile on his face. She guessed he hadn't given up on the silly fortune. At least someone was happy.

Meilin shook her head and directed her attention toward the door of Aunt Wu's Fortune Salon with a grim expression, glaring toward a girl named Meng who kept insisting and offering bean curd puffs, standing at the exit with a large toothy grin, revealing the gap in the girls teeth.

Meilin snarled at her, clenching her fists and angrily walked toward the door and ripped it open, causing the girl to jump in fright and stagger back, almost loosing grip of the tray she was carrying. But it didn't stop a few of the curd puffs from tumbling off the tray.

She spared one more angry glare toward Meng before stepping out of the salon and slammed the door shut with a loud thud.

A few passing by turkey ducks squawked at her, snapping their beaks toward the sudden slam of the door. Two of the turkey ducks angrily pecked at Meilin's ankles in their aggravated state. Meilin only kicked at them, unhappily stomping for them to back off.

She clenched her jaw and pursed her lips, continuing to scowl and took a sharp right and took off in the direction of the local inn, where she had been staying for the past few days. But it seemed just a waste of money, there was no useful information to gather from the small village. And the smell, Meilin hated it.

But that was the price to pay to come to this village. Because of the volcano residing right next to the village, it seemed ideal for good crops to grow because of the fertile soil from the ash.

However, the fertilizer they used on crops hurt her nostrils. Constantly smelling like dung, the only place to go where the air smelled differently was at Aunt Wu's Salon, but even there the air wasn't as clean as she wished. Usually at Aunt Wu's, it would smell like lavender ignescents, but the new cinnamon ones were too overpowering that it made Meilin a little queasy.

She really couldn't wait to leave this place. Even maybe find another fortune teller.

Huffing to herself, she squeezed through a couple of villagers, gently knocking one on the shoulder accidentally. The passer-by jerked her back with a gentle shove of the shoulder, causing Meilin to stumble a little with her footing.

She quickly regained balance however and turned to the person who had shoved her. But she was met by three figures walking away, three different people of sizes and heights, as if nothing had happened.

Meilin cursed under her breath, would it be right to swear at a bunch of kids? Probably not. Word carried fast in this kind of area, and gossip it seemed played a big part in entertainment.

Instead, Meilin shook her head and continued on toward the inn. Ignoring the still squawking turkey ducks that echoed in the near distance.

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><p>Meilin sighed heavily, shifting into a comfortable sitting position and leaned against the table, her index finger circling the rim of her teacup and a bored expression laced her tired face.<p>

"Happy birthday to me…" she muttered, her voice drifting off into the dark room.

It was already past midnight, Meilin had stayed up since visiting the fortune tellers salon, doing absolutely nothing besides flicking through a few books that she'd purchased awhile ago. It was getting old - fast.

But it was also her last day in Makapu Village, which meant her last night at the inn. Now all she could think about was where she would venture next. She never usually stayed in the same place twice, or stayed too long ether. The only place she hasn't been was the air temples and there was no way she was risking going there.

The air temples were basically falling in on themselves. Risking going near one was like risking your own life. Or so she'd heard.

She huffed, flopping back onto her back and spread her arms out on ether side and gazed up at the wooden ceiling. "Well, it _is_ my birthday. Matters can wait for another day, maybe I can go somewhere nice like a tropical island…" she mused aloud. "Maybe somewhere fun for a change."

She puckered her lips thoughtfully and squinted her eyes, thinking deeply. To the very hour, she had turned 19 years old. But her travels weren't in the least bit over, she still had lots of things to do and questions to ask. Yet out of the many places she has visited, there was nothing for her to work with.

Maybe she just wasn't looking in the right place.

Or maybe the answers were right under her nose.

Meilin couldn't tell. She didn't exactly _know_ what she was looking for.

'_Maybe the Fire Nation-'_

A sharp knock at the door turned her attention elsewhere, dragging her out of her train of thought enough to cause her to twitch in small panic. Meilin sat up and looked toward the direction of the door through the dark room and frowned in confusion.

Who would be up this late anyway? Or even better, who could be knocking on her door in the middle of the night? No one exactly knew her here.

Breathing through her nose with a small sigh, she pushed herself up and stood before taking quick and long strides toward the door.

Yet, before she could reach to open the unlocked door, someone tore the door open and she gasped in fright, stumbling back just enough to miss being hit. Her eyes bulged, struggling to see through the dark.

"_Grab her_!" an unfamiliar voice yelled.


	2. When They Strike

**A/N: I'm actually, truly surprised that I got a review. I never thought I would, but nonetheless I'm over the moon, even though it is just one. So thank you for the awesome review **_**MoSBanapple**_**. It means so much to me, and very helpful! Also, another huge thank you to the lovely people who followed this story. **

**Also, if you haven't noticed, I have a cover for this fanfic! Thank you to **_**Slipping-Away123 **_**on Deviantart, as well as the other pics you've done of Zuko and Meilin. **

**I urge people to check it out! They're amazing!**

**By the way, I'm really sorry if there are any errors in this chapter. But if you want, feel free to leave a review and give an honest opinion. No pressure though:3 Anyway, enjoy. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: When They Strike<strong>

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><p>Meilin just wanted to laugh at the stupidity of it. But all she could do was stand still while her 'captor' held her securely in place from behind, keeping her arms tight together behind her back. The sounds of spark rocks connecting together from somewhere close by only gave her small glimpses of light each time the rocks snapped together, yet enough to catch the face of a small figure standing before her.<p>

It was almost hilarious to her. The thought of it, the thought of being captured by something so tiny.

You see, Meilin has never gotten into trouble with the law. Or any bandits, or pirates or anyone up to no good. She played it safe. And that's the way she liked it. If she came across someone trying to stir up trouble, she would stay away. She wouldn't bother them and they wouldn't bother her.

Meilin has never done anything she wasn't supposed to, never trespassing or stealing. Everything was _safe_. And she was hell-bent on keeping it that way. But _this_, this was new. She couldn't have imagined anything like this happening. She should be scared and pleading, but it was all too funny to her.

A child. A simple, small child. That's who she was looking at. But the female child wasn't looking back, more looking _through_ as though Meilin wasn't even there. Albeit, a bit unnerving, but humorous nonetheless. But by the looks of it, perhaps the child was from around here. Though she didn't recognise the face, she recognised the ethnic traits of skin tone and hair, it also helped with what the child was wearing.

It matched, but Meilin could be wrong. The child was definitely from the Earth Kingdom, yet from where about she did not know.

Meilin couldn't help but snort and was thankful it went unnoticed. The person that held her in place was certainly strong, a lot stronger than herself. She'd already tried to struggle out of the hold moments before, but settled when realising it was useless.

The person gripping and halting her movements, as she noticed, was obviously male. After all, it was both the person who shouted to grab her and now was currently holding her. And if not, it was ether a female with a deep voice and large man hands. You could never tell in the Earth Kingdom, most women from there were abnormally strong. Physically, of course.

But it all came down to one thing; what did these people want?

Most importantly, what were these _kids_ doing here?

Meilin listened as the spark rocks continued to clap together, until finally something lit up from behind her. Unfortunately, she couldn't see what was going on. But it didn't stop her from trying to peer around.

Though, rather harshly, the guy holding her suddenly jerked her to look straight, grumbling under his breath. "Don't try anything funny,"

Meilin was about to retort, until the girl in front of her spoke up for the first time. "She wont," she began "She's not even shaking anymore, kinda surprising, given the circumstances."

Meilin blinked.

"But still, we cant trust her. She might try something, she could be dangerous Toph. We cant-"

"Quit whining," the girl- Toph, cut in while beginning to rub her earlobe.

"We cant be too sure."

Meilin glared at nothing in particular. "You know, you kids should be in bed sleeping." Meilin muttered in annoyance "Not breaking into peoples houses. So if you will, let me go and get the hell out."

She winced when the grip tightened, cursing under her breath.

A few moments passed, silence setting in. Blatantly ignoring her statement, which only aggravated her more. Even the third member of their little gang was ignoring Meilin, and she still didn't know what was going on behind her. Well, that was until a familiar scent swept itself up her nose.

Her face fell blank, her brow twitching.

_Are they just here to make tea?_

Meilin shook her head quickly. Why would a bunch of kids go through that much trouble for a cup of tea? It made no sense.

More seconds ticked by, until the guy that was holding her suddenly pushed her back and turned her toward the living room, forcing her to walk forward unstably. Her knees wobbled under her and tried to keep a steady pace until she was standing in front of the small table. Her captor released one arm and pressed firmly on her shoulder, forcing her to sit.

"I'm going to let go now, _don't_ try anything or you'll regret it. Got it?" he hissed into her ear. Meilin grumbled, but nodded her head in agreement.

She let out a sigh of relief when the grip on her other arm was released. Rolling her arms around, she began to rub the small sores, glaring down at the wooden table in annoyance. The unnamed guy sat down beside her, crossing his legs and arms, not once taking his eyes off her. The other girl, Toph, also sat at the table, opposite them. Leaning back lazily, playing with a loose strand of her hair.

The last person was currently walking into the living room, holding both a kettle and a newly lit candle. Meilin looked up, observing some of the features from the light of the flickering candle that outlined the persons face. Another female. And just as young as the other two, perhaps older than the shorter one. Meilin wasn't sure how old the male was, she hadn't had a proper look at him.

The girl, as Meilin noticed, had blue eyes and darkly tanned skin. Followed by long, wavy brown hair that fell to her waist and hair loops on each side of her face, also, from what she could see with the current light, blue clothing.

Meilin clenched her jaw.

_Water tribe clothing._

The female placed the kettle and candle onto the table before scurrying back out of the room, yet only to return moments later with three clay tea cups. The girl placed one in front of the unnamed male and in front of the smaller girl named Toph and finally, one in front of herself- next to Toph.

Meilin took a quick glance about, careful to not look suspicious, though who wouldn't be in this sort of situation? The current thought on her mind was looking for an escape route, but even that seemed a little useless. The windows were locked, which wouldn't give her much time to unlock them and leap out without being caught again and the door was a dangerous path to take, depending on the stamina of the other three, it was a huge risk. As it stood, If these people weren't willing to leave, then Meilin would have to. Or try at least. She didn't like strangers, and she'll be damned if she shared a cup of tea with a bunch of them ether.

But by the looks of it, she was severely outnumbered. And she wasn't exactly a fighter, or a martial artist. Or even a bender. Meilin bit down on her tongue, kicking herself for the negative thoughts. But there was one thing Meilin was very skilled in- strategic withdrawal. Tactical escape or also known as running away.

Anyone would call it cowardly, but when the Fire Nation kept trying to claim world dominance you kinda have to learn these things. Though that was a little over two years ago, it's hard to shake the habit. And Meilin knew when she was outmatched, after all, the best she could do in a fight is kick someone in the privates and run like hell.

A peasant life; you gotta do what you gotta do. Even if it means being a coward.

Besides, Meilin still didn't' know if any of these people were benders. They've shown no sign besides physically restraining her. No flying rocks and magic water flapping around or even firebending. Just nothing.

_Maybe they're trying to get me to trust them…_ Meilin idly thought. _Then they'll probably mug me. Great, I have nothing of value besides a small coin purse and I need that._

The female that placed the kettle onto the table began to pour tea into each of the clay cups, that included the empty one Meilin had out from earlier. Meilin only scowled, this isn't how she planned her birthday.

The female cleared her throat gently, looking up at Meilin with a serious expression.

"Now, you're probably wondering why we're here," she began, Meilin raised an eyebrow "But let me start by introducing myself. I'm Katara," she gestured to herself before pointing at the two others "And this is my brother Sokka and my friend Toph."

Sokka gave curt nod while Toph just continued to play with random strands of hair.

"I want to apologize for the way we've acted but we didn't come here for the tea," Katara continued.

Meilin leaned forward, placing an elbow and the table and scowled up at Katara. Her brow set in a deep 'V'. "If you're looking to steal stuff, you're in the wrong place kid."

Katara frowned and shook her head, raising her hands defensively. "We're not here to steal, I can promise you that," Katara paused, inhaling deeply "We need your help." she kept her eyes downcast, gnawing on her lip nervously and fidgeting on the spot, waiting for a response.

Meilin blinked. Her face blank.

"You need my help?" she repeated slowly.

Katara nodded.

"Yes."

"You need _my_ help." Meilin drawled.

Katara nodded once more and finally shifted her gaze to meet Meilin's own amused one. "I know it's a lot to ask and we hardly know you, but Aunt Wu-"

Meilin raised her hands, cutting off Katara. "Say no more."

Katara's blue orbs brightened, a smile breaking across her face. "So you'll help us?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh hell no," Meilin grunted out, leaning back and crossing her arms. "Aunt Wu? You're a fool to believe her crap. She's as helpful as a drowning turtleduck,"

Meilin knew she was being a little harsh, but Aunt Wu did ruin her day. She's supposed to be a fortune teller yet all she got was a bunch of nonsense about what not to wear on certain days and what food to stay away from. And something about mountains, Meilin couldn't be sure. She tuned out of her sitting with Aunt Wu the moment she mentioned cotton gloves.

But on another note, why would she ever want to help a bunch of kids that are technically holding her hostage? She didn't know them and to be frank, she didn't _want_ to know them. Meilin had no obligation to help them, besides, they could all be up to something dangerous that could get themselves into trouble with the law. Meilin would never get involved in something like that.

They looked the type, Meilin could practically feel it vibrating off of them. It spelled trouble.

"But you have to!" Katara retorted a few seconds later, allowing Meilin's words to sink in. Katara shook her head angrily. "Me- _everyone_ needs your help."

Meilin huffed in annoyance. How long were they planning on staying here again? "_Why_?"

"Because Aunt Wu-"

"I don't care what Aunt Wu said. Why do _you_ need my help?" she replied in annoyance.

"Because- because we just do!" Katara closed her eyes for a moment, breathing slowly and trying to calm herself.

"I'm not helping you. I don't know you. I don't mingle with troublemakers, so-"

"_Please_," pleaded Katara, reopening her eyes, "I cant say for sure why we need your help but we do. I'm not asking for much. Just come with us to meet my friend-"

"Our friend," Toph corrected, Katara threw her an annoyed glance.

"_Our_ friend, just talk to him, that's all you need to do." Katara bit her lip before continuing "The Avatar needs your help."

That did it for Meilin, her head rolled back and a laugh bubbled its way up and into the dimly lit room. She has heard many things in her small travels, from people claiming they were a badgermole, to other people claiming they could earthbend when they were so clearly a firebender. There was one time when a random stranger was sure he could hear inanimate objects speaking to him and was determined to convince Meilin he wasn't insane.

But _never_, never had a person told Meilin the Avatar needed _her_ help. It was just laughable, she didn't even _know_ the avatar.

Meilin just continued to laugh. It was so stupid. All this fuss to prank a girl. It had to be some sort of joke, no one in their right mind would try pull something like this. Who did they think they were anyway?

A sharp thud on the table broke Meilin out of her laughter, she jumped and her head swivelled around to the source of the noise. Which turned out to be Sokka, his face twisted in anger and his fists tightly clenched. His icy blue eyes burned in spite, his gaze scorching Meilin with intensity that she even flinched, backing down.

"How could you laugh at a time like this?" he whispered, his voice entwined with malice and rage. Meilin bit down on the inside of her cheek. "The Avatar needs your help and so do we. Don't you _dare_ laugh. You have no right-"

"Sokka, calm down," Katara warned harshly, trying to defuse the sudden hostility. Her pale eyed gaze flickered to Meilin's slumping form and back to her brother. "We're all upset but it's not her fault."

"_N_ot her fault? She's mocking us!" Sokka bit back.

Meilin clenched her jaw, her nails digging into her arms. "Mocking you? Don't you find this situation a bit _off_? You trespass, grab me and demand my help. Please excuse me if it seems a little funny to me. I'm not in the mood to tangle with a bunch of children, so kindly get the fuck out."

Meilin and Sokka never broke eye contact for what felt a long time. Both locked in a heated glare at the other. Maybe Meilin was being a little naïve, this situation itself could be dangerous and could lead her into big trouble. It was already proven that Sokka was much stronger than her and he could easily take her down. She should be frightened, any normal person would be but when it came to younger people than herself, she was less than scared- it was almost amusing.

However, if they were a little bit older perhaps she would have been more frightened. It was judgemental. Meilin still felt like she had some control over the situation even though it was entirely false but she refused to believe so. As she would say 'I'm older, you're younger, I know better'. To say the very least, Meilin had no respect for younger generations. That was just her way of coping, in a sense, there were thousands of civilians younger than herself that had joined the Fire Nation Army and acted as though they had a higher authority, some as young as twelve. Perhaps that was where her annoyance for youngsters developed.

Again, that all ended a little over two years ago. Though there still were the few odd ones that still tried to reinforce that they held themselves in higher places and shouldn't mingle with street urchins or peasants like herself.

It was bothersome. Not to mention the sexism of the prejudice men that situated almost every village, town and city. The wishy-washy women were no help and allowed it, just as bad as the men.

Eventually, Sokka decided to stand. His fists still clenched tightly and his glare never ceasing to break their eye-lock.

"Fine," he said finally "If you wont cooperate, then we'll just take you by force."

Meilin didn't understand what he meant, that was until he reached back and pulled something from his back. Meilin squinted to see when Sokka held the half visible item up high and formed a crouching position as if ready to-

Her eyes widened and she scrambled back, her jaw falling slack in horror. Her joints locked and her muscles tensed in anticipation, ready for the strike. Because without a doubt, Sokka was ready to hit her with whatever he held in his hand.

"Sokka, stop!" Katara warned, standing up and eying Sokka carefully. "You don't need to do this,"

Sokka breathed heavily, his nose flaring. "I have to. It's the only way."

He began to stalk forward, and Meilin's breathing accelerated, her heart pumping heavily against her chest. Adrenalin pumping through her, so she did the only thing she could think of. She rolled herself over and onto her hands and knees and attempted to crawl away quickly. But it wasn't fast enough.

There came the sound of something swishing, almost like a whistle that cut through the air. It only took a few seconds until the noise broke and Meilin found herself sprawled out across the floor, her eyes wide in fright and the back of her head lighting up in a burning pain. Her vision blurred and she spluttered, sucking in air to gasp.

She blinked, trying to shake the blurriness and dizziness off. Meilin attempted to lift her head, only to find it became oddly heavy- on top of it all, excruciating to move. She hissed, her arm rolling around slowly so her hand could gingerly caress the hot pain.

"Sokka, are you crazy?!" Katara cried, running over to Meilin and crouched down beside her "You could kill her, you idiot!"

"You're a healer, you can fix it," idly spoke Toph. Sokka remained still, standing over Meilin with his weapon- a club.

"Not the point Toph," growled Katara, gently touching the sides of Meilin's head. Her blue eyes carefully examining the new wound. Luckily, there was no blood.

"You dick…" weakly whispered Meilin, her vision beginning to tunnel as black blotchy spots scattered across her vision. "Stay the hell away from me."

It didn't take long after that, for Meilin's head to connect with the ground, her eyes flickering shut, falling into unconsciousness. Katara grumbled, her head turning to scowl at Sokka who was gazing off into space.

"I had to," he mumbled "If it's the only way to save Suki."


	3. When They Wake You

**So… I received another review. And actually, I'm very, very excited about it! Many people would think that one review is nothing but to me it means millions and speaks volumes to me. It makes me think 'hey, maybe not everyone will hate this story' or 'maybe people are **_**actually**_** enjoying it'. whichever the review, negative or positive- I actually love it and means people are reading. **

**So, a huge thank you to the amazing **_**lawliness.**_** I'm so happy with your review! And glad I caught your eye with my story, and I'm glad you don't think my character is a Mary-sue- because Meilin, in no way, is she one of them and it would pain me to make her that way:3**

**On another note, I've been reading plenty more fanfics about ATLA, and it hurts to read. I like reading Oc's, and many of them are always with Aang from day one and goes through all the chapters in the cartoon (there are no 'filler' chapters for character development) and most of the time, the oc is stealing lines from the main characters (IE, stealing Katara's or Aang's lines) but somehow, out of nowhere manages to get a guy/girl. It's irritating. - anyone else feel anger when they read these types of stories?**

**Please, I beg you, send me some good ATLA fanfics to read! With some decent writing! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: When They Wake You<strong>

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><p>It was like she was waterlogged.<p>

She could hear, yet not clearly. Like someone had shoved a bunch of cotton into her ears, everything was muffled, as if she was trying to listen through a long tunnel. Voices she couldn't make out, low enough to call it a whisper but at the same time it vibrated through her, bouncing around in her skull.

And it _hurt_.

A pain she was very aware of, pounding at the back of her head like a platypus bear was clawing its way through her with its long sharp nails. It was almost unbearable, the pain just tripled the closer she came to consciousness. Meilin had never felt anything so _painful._ She had never been injured like this before, the most she had received was a badly cut knee and a few bumps and bruises here and there. Though not once has she ever broken a bone ether. She'd heard it was sore, but she would rather take a broken bone over a piercing headache any day.

_What happened to me?_ she groggily wondered.

The closest thing she's felt to this was when she drank a whole bottle of Fire Sake on her 18th birthday, that was well over a year ago but she hadn't touched the stuff since. To say the least, her head felt like it was going to explode the next day. But now, with her new headache- it felt like her head was going to implode _and_ explode at the same time topped off by her skull ripping itself open.

Did _I get drunk again?_ she found herself wondering.

But the harder she fought to remember, the worse her headache became. A whimper escaped her lips. It was like there was a live heartbeat in her head, but it hurt every time it beat and fluttered. It was torture.

More muffled voices drifted around her, becoming closer, slightly more clearer. And she strained to hear, but it was hard, trying to solider through her pain.

Her fingers twitched, her face twisting and scrunching in concentration.

"I think she's waking up," said one voice and Meilin gave a mental cheer for finally being able to make out the words. "Katara, you might want to come over here."

Once the name was out, Meilin's insides turned to ice, freezing her in silent shock. The name, the familiar name. that was all it took. The three trespassers, their names and the memory flashing in her mind. Toph, Katara, _Sokka_.

The three were wanting her help and Meilin flatly refused. Then Katara's brother, Sokka, got angry and stuck her from behind. It was sudden and out of nowhere. Meilin knew they were up to no good, she just knew it. And Sokka proved her right.

But she was torn, she wanted to clobber Sokka for _literally_ knocking her unconscious and fearing the guy. It was swirling in the pit of her stomach, rage and fear mixing together. But she couldn't really focus on it, who could? Her head was almost cracked open.

Meilin whimpered again when another stab of pain shot through her skull. Her eyes wrinkled tightly together and she sucked in a jagged breath of air through her teeth. It took her a few moments, but finally her eyes slowly opened. Yet just as quickly as she opened them, they snapped shut and she hissed in annoyance.

_Even my eyes hurt!_ she angrily thought, her jaw locking and she grit her teeth together.

Her eyes burned from the rims and directed toward the centre of her pupils. It was like someone had personally ripped her eyes out and attempted to put them back in- very badly at that. It stung, and now that she had already opened and closed them, the pain was there, and not just in her head. She wasn't even aware her eyes hurt until then.

_Bothersome._

More voices rang through her ears, though too distant for her to understand. The sounds of feet shuffling, moving further away from her. A gentle gust of wind and then nothing.

"Here, this will help," a voice whispered in her ear, causing Meilin to twitch in fright and her eyes to snap open. She cringed as light stabbed her vision and raised her hand to shield herself from the sudden brightness. "Careful," the voice said again, louder and clearer. But this time Meilin recognised the voice- Katara.

Everything was blurry as she tried to focus, all she could see was the blurred outline of her hand dangling above her to protect herself from the radiance of the light.

Meilin felt a pair of hands gently place themselves on both sides of her head, followed by something cold and wet. But the sensation after was something a lot different, almost soothing. Not that she was complaining, compared to the burning the coldness of the touch seemed to breeze through her head and eased the throbbing. She couldn't understand what kind of feeling it was, she'd never felt anything like it before.

Though, over all, it was actually quite a pleasant touch and feeling.

She shivered, her eyes scrunching, her hand shifting a little when the blurriness began to fade and her vision sharpened. A pair of light blue eyes were staring down at her, brow puckered in concentration. It was Katara. Meilin had no clue what she was doing, but whatever it was, it was helping.

Katara's cheeks were slightly flushed, sweat forming on her forehead, focusing intently on whatever she was doing. Meilin only blinked up at her.

There was a small, pregnant pause before Katara finally realised Meilin was staring. It was like the snap of a finger, Katara's face melted into relief and she sighed happily, removing her hands. And with her hands, the cool feeling fled leaving behind a dull ache- bearable. A lot better than the sharp pains scattered around in her head.

"I'm so glad you're awake," she muttered, closing her eyes and wiping her brow "I thought you'd be out for a few more days, you proved me wrong. Thank goodness."

_A few more days?_

Meilin frowned. "Why are you still here? I thought I told you to get out?" she asked, her voice thick and hoarse. Meilin swallowed the thickness in her throat, croaky voices were very unpleasant. But it gave her time to realise how dry her mouth was. It wasn't a nice feeling at all.

Katara threw Meilin a sheepish look and rubbed the back of her head. "About that," she laughed nervously.

Meilin's frown deepened and she attempted to sit up, forcing herself through the stiffness of her body and ignoring the head rush she got from sitting up. Her joins clicked and cracked horribly. She groaned softly, leaning forward.

"You shouldn't push yourself, you're just awake," Katara warned her, placing a hand on her shoulder, but Meilin only shook it off.

Meilin blinked rapidly, waiting for the head rush to go away. Once it had, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and took a quick look about. To say the least, the sight in front of her wasn't what she was expecting. She choked, gapping in horror.

For starters, she wasn't at the inn or the room she'd rented. _That_ was obvious. Secondly, she was outside, staring at a campfire that would crackle and snap occasionally. The only thing she seemed to recognise was the night sky, as well as Katara. No one else was around, which confused her. She was certain she'd heard other voices. Which brought her to question-

"Where the hell am I?" she squawked, her head flapping around to Katara. She regretted that when something in her neck 'clicked' and a dull, but hot throb in her neck formed. She rubbed it angrily.

Katara held a nervous smile, but shook her head. "We'll get to that soon, but right now you need to drink something."

Meilin scowled as Katara stood, walking quickly over to the fire where a small bucked was situated. Katara picked it up easily and strode back to Meilin, plopping down beside her. Meilin glanced inside the bucked, eyeing it suspiciously.

_Water._ She thought grimly. _From a nearby lake no doubt. I don't trust it_.

Katara laughed lightly and Meilin looked up at her with a sour expression. "Don't worry, it's sterile. I boiled and filtered it when you were sleeping." Meilin's shoulders slumped, relaxing a little. At least Katara wasn't dumb.

Katara pulled out a clay cup, though Meilin wasn't sure from where, and dunked it into the water, handing it to Meilin. Which she took gratefully before downing it in one straight go. Katara raised an eyebrow but didn't question it.

Meilin sighed, moistening her lips and handed the cup back and muttered a small thanks.

"So," Katara coughed "You're probably wondering where you are,"

"No shit," Meilin grumbled.

"We'll get to that soon, but I'm curious, since you didn't answer before… what's your name?"

Meilin rolled her eyes. It was customary to exchange names when meeting a new person, she knew that. But in Meilin's defence, she shouldn't have to. Especially to intruders. So was it really rude? Then again, she wanted to get to the point and not beat around the bush.

"Meilin. Now, where am I?"

Katara sighed heavily. "Well, you're not in the village anymore. I'm guessing you've already noticed." Meilin rolled her eyes again while Katara gestured to the campfire "Toph, Sokka and myself, obviously, took you back to our campsite,"

"So you basically kidnapped me…" muttered Meilin.

Katara's hands flew up defensively "No, no, no," she ushered "Nothing like that. I took you here to heal your head injury."

"What do you mean _heal_?"

"I'm a healer," Katara explained with a smile "A waterbender really, but I have the ability to heal people."

Meilin's eyebrows shot up, her lips pursing together in a straight line. "Yeah, I'm leaving now…" Meilin readied herself to stand, testing her weight as she got into a crouching position. It wasn't exactly stable, she wobbled unsteadily as the blood rushed through her half numb legs. Her knees quivering, ready to fall back down. Her head gave a few sharp thuds against her abused skull.

_How long have I been lying here sleeping?_

Katara jolted forward in front of Meilin, her hands weighing Meilin's shoulders down in urgency. Her face clouded in sudden panic. "You cant leave," she spoke quickly "You're still recovering from your wound and-"

Meilin fell back onto her bottom with a low 'thud', pushing Katara's hands away. "Well I don't exactly _want_ to be around a waterbender," she hissed back, glaring at Katara from her fallen spot.

Katara blinked and leaned back, tucking her legs under herself and placed her hands onto her lap calmly. She frowned deeply. "What's wrong with being a waterbender?" Katara almost sounded offended. _Almost_.

Meilin tutted. "Last waterbender I mingled with locked me in a mountain," her glare deepened "No offence, but I've never trusted a waterbender since. Not that I see them very often, but _still_."

Recognition flooded through Katara, her jaw fell slack and she gaped at Meilin as if she'd grown an extra head. Meilin slyly shuffled back, eyeing the young waterbender carefully. Her chances of escaping wasn't as large she initially thought, now they were even slimmer. Her chances of dying, however, became much, much higher.

For a waterbender, there was a verity of ways to kill or subdue an escapee. It all came down to ice. Ice spikes, ice balls, freeze the person, freeze half of their body so they could beat the living crap out of you. Other ways came down to water, and water can be very powerful. It can knock you over, cut you- _yes_, cut you, _impale_ you, give you a very hard slap, whip you, or even drown you.

And Meilin didn't want any of those things.

She didn't want to die, or want to be held against her will. By a bender no less. She wanted to stay away from them, along with anything spiritual as long as she lived. Normal was nice, weird stuff was not, as she liked to put it.

Katara finally regained her composure, shaking her head swiftly. "You mean to tell me, that _you_ were one of the prisoners trapped in the mountain?"

Meilin gave Katara a dubious look, unsure of how to respond to that. It wasn't like Katara was the one who locked her up there, it was that old hag. Meilin could barely remember the face or the name, but the only woman's voice she did remember, just thinking about it sent a chill up her spine. It was horrific and scary and was a memory she was hoping to suppress for a long time, though it never really happened.

"Yeah, what of it?" Meilin responded finally, kicking herself for the way her voice wavered uncomfortably.

Katara's hand was now covering her mouth and she gasped silently. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled apologetically "Hama must have really frightened you, but… I don't remember seeing you escape the mountain with the other from the village."

Meilin snorted. After her unfortunate imprisonment in that god forsaken mountain, she had ran like a bat out of hell, ignoring the fact she was malnourished and practically starving to death, she never stopped running until she came across the next village which surprisingly took her in despite it being in the Fire Nation. Her assumption of ever village in that region of the world was quickly switched, not everyone is bad apparently.

After that, Meilin stayed away from the Fire Nation all together. She never wanted to run into that wicked woman again.

Meilin replied after the short silence. "I fled, obviously." rolling her eyes as if it was the most obvious answer.

Katara nodded, drumming her fingers on her knees. "So I'm guessing that's what you don't like waterbenders," Meilin nodded "Well, you're safe here. I'm nothing like Hama and besides, Hama was arrested after everyone was freed."

It still didn't make her feel any better. It still happened, the memory was still there, no matter what went down with Hama. Meilin couldn't erase what she already knew, no matter how hard she tried.

Meilin only grimaced into space, unhappy with the sudden turn of conversation, even if it was her own fault. "Good. I hope she rots."

Katara flinched but didn't press the matter. "So how about you tell me about yo-"

Katara was abruptly cut off when a large gust of wind blew through the campsite, kicking up dirt and fallen leaves. Meilin had to shield her eyes to stop anything from hurting her vision, and the fact it hurt when something got stuck inside the eye.

Her dark hair flew out behind her, flowing this way and that until it all became one big tangled knot- much to her displeasure.

Katara, however, seemed unfazed and was looking up above her. Meilin carefully followed the stare, still shielding her eyes. But what she saw made her stomach twist and her jaw hit the floor to shock.

It was the underbelly to some huge beast, followed by six identical and large legs. Floating high above them. Meilin gave a startled shriek.

_What the hell is that thing?!_

"The perimeters are safe, no one followed us!" a voice called down from above, startling Meilin even more. She knew that voice, and it made her glower. _Sokka_.

No, this definitely wasn't Meilin's day.

* * *

><p><strong>I wrote this chapter awhile ago, but I feel like it was rushed, no matter how many times I read over it. I'm not pleased with it. What do you guys think?<strong>


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